On being a philosopher

Awe as the spark of true wisdom.

A philosopher—literally, the word means to be a friend of wisdom, or it can also be understood as to be a lover of wisdom. In that sense then, we all can be a philosopher, we all can fall in love with knowledge and study those things that we consider interesting, those things that have ignited our curiosity, that have turned our spark on.

But what is the most important tool of a philosopher? Is it the book? The libraries? The internet? A page of dedicated articles? Their notebook? Their pen? I don’t think so. I don’t believe that the most important tool of a philosopher comes from something material—it definitely comes from within, from something that we all have and that we all can practice. So then, the most important tool of the philosopher is their awe—their love for the world.

With awe, they become fascinated by the things that are on this beautiful planet and far beyond it; awe ignites their brain and generates movement in philosophers, and it creates the work in them. Because the real purpose of philosophers is to act as architects of questions, they mould them and frame those questions in the correct way so then the path to follow becomes more clear.

Loving wisdom is loving life, loving the movement that is the natural state of things. And it is not only a love for nature, but also a love for humans, for their behavior, and for ourselves in general. If we love wisdom, we should get into movement to find it and develop it in ourselves.

You say that you love yourself? So what kind of love would it be if you don’t work on your curiosity—on that thing that gives you joy and passion? Searching for knowledge, for wisdom, is an act of happiness. Eudaimonia is the type of happiness that endures time, because it comes from working constantly, it comes from progress, it comes from becoming something bigger.

Philosophy belongs to everyone and it is not enclosed to some specific topics—it can be about everything that is interesting to you. So you must change your identity, you have to own it, to really make it yours. Then you will see yourself as a philosopher who happens to be an athlete too. A philosopher who happens to be an engineer. A philosopher who happens to be an inventor, or an artist, or a photographer, or a writer. You decide what you want to be.

First, be in awe.

Be an architect of questions.

Get into action.

Thank you for reading!

Keep moving forward,

Sebas